Piano phenom making Tucson debut in '23 Jazz Fest

Jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker has been called a prodigy, a phenom and, in the words of fellow jazz pianist Jon Batiste, “the greatest.”

But none of that will matter when he takes the stage at Fox Tucson Theatre on Jan. 15 for the opening weekend of the 2023 HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival.

For the 21-year-old, the only thing that matters is the music.

“It’s an honor to be recognized, but I just love music in general, no matter what genre,” he said during an interview days after appearing at the Apollo Theater‘s “Amateur Night Holiday Special” last month. “Whenever I get a chance to come and play it will be fun.”

The Fox concert with his quintet will be his Tucson debut, which he described as “an honor.”

“I’m really excited about it,” he said.

Whitaker is one of the youngest headliners on the 2023 lineup that includes more than 80 artists performing over 10 days from Jan. 13-22. He also has one of the more interesting life stories, said festival Executive Director Khris Dodge.

“His back story is amazing,” Dodge said. “Matthew, if you hear his story, you can’t help but be mesmerized.”

Whitaker’s story includes being born two months premature, losing his eyesight to retinopathy of prematurity, undergoing 11 surgeries before he was two and learning piano by ear at the age of three on a small Yamaha keyboard gifted by his grandfather.

He started taking classical piano lessons at age 5, and at 9, he made his Apollo Theater debut in the famed Harlem venue’s “Child Stars of Tomorrow” competition; and he won.

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The next year, the Apollo invited him back to open for Stevie Wonder when it inducted the legendary Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter into its hall of fame.

Whitaker’s career since then has been a whirlwind of touring the country and internationally, recording a trio of albums and appearing on national TV shows including the Today Show documentary series “Boys Changing the World,” “Ellen” and a segment on “60 Minutes.”

He comes here with his latest and most personal album, “Connections,” released in the summer of 2021. The album, produced by Derrick Hodge with guest appearances from Batiste and violinist Regina Carter, features Whittaker’s arrangements of Duke Ellington’s “I Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo a la Turk” alongside a jazzy, blues cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1980 soulful ballad “Lately.”

He also has several original compositions, including the titular tune that pleads for that balance of harmony and sameness that unites us in peace; and the light and upbeat “Journey Uptown,” which shows us the New York City that Whittaker “sees.”

“ ‘Journey Uptown’ is a song that is basically me saying what does New York sound like to me from my point of view as someone who’s blind,” said the Hackensack, New Jersey, native.

Whitaker also tackles society’s dysfunction with “Stop Fighting,” a song that makes the case that “we don’t need any negativity at all. Basically saying stop that, stop fighting,” he explained.

“This album was really focusing on the connections I had with other people and their connections with me, reaching people I’ve known for a long time and people I’ve known recently,” said Whitaker, who is finishing his bachelor’s degree at Julliard. “All these songs that me and Derrick chose are focusing on my composition skills and arrangement skills.”

Whitaker, who was featured in Apple’s “The Greatest” ad campaign highlighting its accessibility apps, will pull from “Connections” and his two earlier albums during his Fox concert, which will feature him playing piano and Hammond organ.

“I love performing in front of an audience and they are part of any performance really,” he said. “I always love including the audience in what me and the rest of my band is doing. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”